Earmarks

[Theophylact]

Thought you might like to see this nice graphic:

[surreal]

As mayor of Wasilla, however, Palin oversaw the hiring of Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh, an Anchorage-based law firm with close ties to Alaska's most senior Republicans: Rep. Don Young and Sen. Ted Stevens, who was indicted in July on charges of accepting illegal gifts. The Wasilla account was handled by the former chief of staff to Stevens, Steven W. Silver, who is a partner in the firm.
Palin was elected mayor of Wasilla in 1996 on a campaign theme of "a time for change." According to a review of congressional spending by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan watchdog group in Washington, Wasilla did not receive any federal earmarks in the first few years of Palin's tenure.
Senate records show that Silver's firm began working for Palin in early 2000, just as federal money began flowing.
In fiscal 2000, Wasilla received a $1 million earmark, tucked into a transportation appropriations bill, for a rail and bus project in the town. And in the winter of 2000, Palin appeared before congressional appropriations committees to seek earmarks, according to a report in the Anchorage Daily News.

In fiscal year 2002, Wasilla took in $6.1 million in earmarks -- about $1,000 in federal money for every resident. By contrast, Boise, Idaho -- which has more than 190,000 residents -- received $6.9 million in earmarks in fiscal 2008. All told, Wasilla benefited from $26.9 million in earmarks in Palin's final four years in office.
"She certainly wasn't shy about putting the old-boy network to use to bring home millions of dollars," said Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense. "She's a little more savvy to the ways of Washington than she's let on."
Silver, reached by phone at his Vienna home, declined to comment. Wasilla's town offices were closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.
Maria Comella, Palin's campaign spokeswoman, said Palin sought the Wasilla earmarks because she was "working in the best interests of Alaska, working within the confines of the current system."

In February, Palin's office sent Sen. Stevens a 70-page memo outlining almost $200 million worth of new funding requests for Alaska.

Who? lil ole me?

[jokostel]

Pretty hilarious. You guys didn't even know her name last week, and your doing everything in your power to discredit her now.


You guys seriously need a new hobby.

[Creatures]

Originally Posted by jokostel

You guys didn't even know her name last week,

exactly this sentence should make you think =)

Creatures

[jokostel]

Yeah... and what gives them the right to tear her ass apart when they don't even know what shes about yet...

At least wait a few weeks after doing some reasearch... or listening to a few of her speaches.

Going off half cocked is something the democrats rag on reps for all the time. Now they are playing the same goddamn game.

[Creatures]

the problem is, there is not much time left and before you vote for someone you don't know , you should try to get to know her

i mean the fact that no one knew about her, and she is probably (shot in the dark) the only far right republican female governor you have, it's quite obvious why mccain chose her =)

Creatures

[Pexster]

Excuse me? "Tear her ass apart?" What are you smoking? The record is the record. (Don't hammer me for the tautology, Theo, lol.) What is inappropriate about pointing out lies? And what else is it but a lie when she now claims to have been a fighter against earmarks? You cannot spin this away. She is lying!

[MTAtech]

Originally Posted by jokostel

Yeah... and what gives them the right to tear her ass apart when they don't even know what shes about yet...

Thanks to her speech last night, we know that she is far right of the mainstream of the country. We also know that her speech was packed with lies. I've had enough of Cheney. I'm tired of a VP that's a liar.

As Hillary Rosen said,

So why then do I think that Sarah Palin would be a terrible vice president? Because I also think that John McCain would be a terrible president.

I don't care about how Sarah Palin or John McCain take care of their families. I care about how their policy choices affect my family and millions of other Americans.

McCain and Palin get their health insurance paid for by the government (hers in Alaska and his in Washington). Yet they oppose giving the nearly 46 million uninsured Americans the same access to affordable health care.

John McCain's kids don't have to worry about paying for college. Yet he has opposed every single education support program to help others.

McCain and Palin say they will stand up to oil companies. Yet the only energy policy they support gives millions of dollars in tax breaks to oil companies to do more drilling and he has opposed every piece of federal legislation to explore alternative fuel sources.

McCain and Palin say they will revamp how Washington does business. Yet his campaign is filled with lobbyists and she has cooperated with Sen. Ted Stevens in funneling federal money for useless projects in Alaska for years. And McCain and Palin have no solutions for Americans worrying about their jobs in a fragile economy.

McCain and Palin want us to leave their families alone. Yet they want to make rules for our families by eliminating our right to make our own choices over abortion, eliminate our access to family planning education or domestic partner benefits, and our freedom from discrimination.

They want to control what our kids learn in school about sex and about science. In short, through the policies they promote and the judges they support, they want the government to have more control over our private lives than at any time in history.

[The Real Bingo]

This is disheartening. Kind of like when Ron Paul was asked by Tim Russert - rest in peace - why he wrote in earmarks for his district back in Texas, while at the same time being so adamantly against superfluous government spending.

There is no true, honest, do-good politician anymore - if there ever has been - and it's a shame. We don't need politicians running things anymore...we need patriots and people who put the interest of the nation first.

[jokostel]

Amen.

I said it before, I'll say it again.
EVERY politican NEEDS to be hung for high treason.